The present invention relates to a data entry terminal with manual validation, comprising at least a left lateral side and a right lateral side, a front wall and a back wall, an upper face and a lower face, said upper face consisting of a first portion and a second portion, said terminal further comprising means for reading a portable data support, means for manual validation of the data, said means for manual validation of the data being confined in said first portion of the upper face of the terminal, and a cover being pivotally mounted around a pivot axis between a first position and a second position, said first position being a position for protecting the means of validation from being seen by an unauthorised user and said second position being a closed position, said cover comprising at least a first and a second lateral side having each an internal and an external face, said cover further having a front wall having a first and a second edge, said first edge being substantially at the same level as the upper face of the terminal when the cover in said second position and the second edge being substantially at the same level as the lower face of the terminal when the cover is in the second position, said internal face of the first and of the second lateral side having each first engaging means provided to be each engaged in second corresponding engaging means being disposed each on said left and said right lateral side of said terminal, both first and both second engaging means being provided to be aligned together according said pivot axis to allow a mutual rotation around said pivot axis of the cover and of the terminal.
Such a device is known, for example, from the French patent no. 2 707 407. FR 2 707 407 describes a data entry terminal comprising a cover mounted pivotally between a first open position and a second closed position. In the device according to the French patent, when the cover is in a closed position, it covers the validation means, in this case, a keyboard. When in open position, the cover is rotated of less than 90° upwards thereby protecting the means of validation from being seen by the merchandiser.
Unfortunately, such a device as described in the French patent is not easy, nor practical to use and not safe.
Indeed, when the terminal of FR 2 707 407 is used by a merchandiser, the steps are at least the followings:                1. the merchant opens the cover thereby having in his hand a bulky terminal,        2. the merchant inserts the amount to be paid on the keyboard,        3. the merchant returns the bulky terminal with the cover in open position, the user inserts his/her card and enters his/her personal identification number (PIN) while being protected from the merchant's look.        
Moreover, the terminal according to FR 2 707 407 is only able to ensure security of the user with regards to the merchandiser when he/she is standing in front of him/her. Indeed, all people standing next to the user can see the personal identification number of the user and accordingly, the terminal of FR 2 707 407 does not respond to the “VISA PIN Entry Device Standard” which imposes a terminal to present a shield in order to mask the hand of a user when entering his/her personal identification number. This condition is found in “The VISA PIN Entry Device Standard” Derived Test requirements, Appendix A—Guidance for the Privacy Screen Design, Version 3.0b of April 2004 which is incorporated herein by reference.